Formaldehyde-urea molding composition



mama June 11, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT orrics l 2,203,800

FOBMALDEHYDE-UREA MOLDING COMPOSITION John Kenaon Simona, Dormant, Pa., assignor to Plaskon Company, Inc., Toledo, Ohio. a corporation of Delaware Serial No. 224,361

3 Claims. (01. 200-11 The invention relates to formaldehyde-urea molding compositions containing a latent accelerator or'curing catalyst.

When a thermosetting molding composition,

such as a formaldehyde-urea composition, is molded under elevated pressure and temperature,

it first softens and then hardens at the molding temperature, whereas, a thermoplastic composition remains soft until the molded article has 1Q cooled. As a result, an article molded from a thermosetting composititon can be removed from the mold after a relatively short time and while the article is still hot, and an article molded from a thermoplastic composition cannot be removed from the mold until it has cooled and thus hard- 15 ened sufllclently so that it can be handled.

' The length of time for which a molding com- 0 position must be left in'the mold is one of the factors that determines the cost of articles molded from the composition. A composition that must be left in the mold twice as long as another composition requires about twice as much molding equipment for the same volume of production, and hot-molding equipment is expensive.

Formaldehyde-urea molding compositions are thermosetting, but articles molded therefrom must be left in the heated mold for a short time after the article has become hard enough to be removed, in order that a resin of optimum properti 5 may be produced. It has been found that our g the resin by keeping it at the molding temperature for the proper length of time is required to bring out its optimum properties. There is of course a demand for formaldehyde-urea molding compositions for which a relatively short period of curing is necessary.

A latent accelerator in a formaldehyde-urea molding composition is an ingredient that accelerates the curing of the composition without materially impairing its stability in storage at ordinary temperatures. True latent accelerators are very rare. They may be alkaline, neutral, or so slightly acid that they do not appreciably acidify a molding composition when added thereto. 5 It is believed that they are substances that break up or undergo molecular rearrangement to form acids, but do not do so until the molding temperature is reached. The acids so'formed must be strong enough to serve as catalysts that hasten 50 the curing of the formaldehyde-urea resin.

' be inferior, not only because the composition erators that liberate strong inorganic acids.

tain organic peroxides, such as benzoyl peroxide,

Formaldehyde-urea molding compositions contain appreciable moisture, and are frequently kept in storage for weeks at a time before being used.

Many substances that might be expected to decompose to formacids under molding conditions 5 suffer the same decomposition within a few hours after being intimately mixed with a formaldehyde-urea composition, and are therefore not latent accelerators. Moreover, the behavior of a substance when present as a minor ingredient in 1 a molding composition and subjected to molding pressures at the molding temperatures of to C. cannot be predicted from its behavior when subjected by itself to temperatures of 130 to 160 C. at atmospheric pressure. Most of the potentially acid substances that do not impair the stability of a molding composition when incorporated therewith likewise do not accelerate the curing of the composition in the mold.

A substance that materially impairs the stability of a molding composition is a highly undesirable ingredient. The manufacturer of a formaldehyde-urea molding composition must mold articles for various periods of time at various temperatures and pressures and carefully test them to r determine the molding conditions and curing time required to give the desired results. If a molding composition contains an ingredient that materially impairs the stability of the composition, articles molded from the composition will gradually deteriorates during. storage, but also because the molding conditions required for producing articles with the desired properties from batches of the composition that have been stored for various periods under various conditions are indeterminate.

Although certain halogenated organic compounds that liberate hydrobromic and hydrochloric acid when heated have been known to act as 40 latent accelerators when incorporated in formaldehyde-urea molding compositions, accelerators that liberate organic acids are preferable to accel- Cerhave been used heretofore as latent accelerators, but there are many organic pigments that cannot be used in a mold ng composition containing a peroxide.

The principal object of the invention is to pro- 50 vide a formaldehyde-urea molding composition containing a novel latent accelerator. More specii'lc objects and advantages are apparent from V the description, which merely discloses and illustrates the invention and is not intended to impose limitations upon the claims.

A molding composition embodying the invention contains ethylene thiocyanate (CNSCHaCHzSCN) as a latent accelerator. Ethylene thiocyanate may be prepared by refluxing potassium thiocyanate with ethylene bromide in ethyl alcohol.

A formaldehyde-urea molding composition of the usual type, consisting primarily of cellulosic material (40 to 50%) and a formaldehyde-urea reaction product, may be employed. The preferred proportion of'ethylene thiocyanate in the composition is about per cent by weight.

Example A dried formaldehyde-urea molding composition containing 100 parts of alpha cellulose ilber impregnated with 100 parts of a formaldehydeurea reaction product is ground in a ball mill together with 1 part oi ethylene thiocyanate. The customary modifiers, such as lubricants, opaciilers and coloring matter, may also be added during the grinding. After the ingredients have been intimately nixed, the resulting fine powder is granulated or formed into pellets so that it can be used conveniently to charge a mold. The

* molding is performed under asuitable pressure comprising about V2 per cent of ethylene thiocyanate as a latent accelerator.

3. A formaldehyde-urea molding composition comprising a formaldehyde-urea reaction product, cellulosic material, and ethylene thiocyanate as a latent accelerator.

JOHN KENSON SIMONS. 

